NEW YORK - There was a somber inevitability Wednesday night in the Bronx from the brief pregame ceremony honoring Andy Pettitte to Tampa Bay’s crushing back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning to the decisive final out, which actually came more than 400 miles away in Cleveland.
The New York Yankees’ quest to add another World Series championship fell terribly short as they lost, 8-3, to the Rays at Yankee Stadium. But even before the Yankees and the Rays moved to the ninth inning of their game, the Yankees were officially eliminated minutes earlier, when the Indians concluded their 7-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox, as the scoreboard in center field showed for all to see.
With four games remaining, the Yankees have only 82 victories, while the Indians have 88.
“When you are out before the postseason even starts,” Manager Joe Girardi said, “it’s extremely disappointing.”
It is only the second time in the past 19 years that the Yankees have not qualified for the postseason.
“It’s frustrating,” Robinson Cano said. “We were close, but we didn’t make the playoffs. At the same time we have to be, not satisfied, but at least we got this far because we didn’t have most of the guys most of the season. It was close, but there is nothing else you can do.”
The Yankees, typical of their recent form, could muster little offense against left hander David Price, and the Rays delivered the decisive blows when Evan Longoria hit a three-run home run off reliever David Huff and David DeJesus followed with a shot to right field. The fans at Yankee Stadium, perhaps numbed by the inevitable, watched in near silence.
The Yankees last failed to make the playoffs in 2008. In 2009, they rebounded with a flourish, spending lavishly in the off-season and winning the World Series. There is little to suggest that pattern will hold this year, with the Yankees professing a new frugality.
Some players could leave through free agency, others are aging and facing an uncertain future, two are retiring, and Alex Rodriguez is in jeopardy of a season-long suspension for allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs.
Rodriguez is also dealing with fragile legs and was removed in the eighth inning.
“He told me his legs weren’t great, and he said he was going to go take care of them,” Girardi said. “And I said, ‘OK, go take care of them.’”
Both Pettitte and Mariano Rivera have announced they will retire after the season. Pettitte was scheduled to start Friday in Houston, near his hometown, against the Astros, his former team, and Rivera will probably pitch today in his last game at Yankee Stadium. But it is not the way he wanted to end his career.
“To say goodbye to the fans, but it doesn’t mean anything,” Rivera said. “I’m not used to pitching for something that doesn’t mean anything. I want to pitch in something that means something. But the fans to me are special, and I’ll be there tomorrow.”
Several other key players, like Cano, Curtis Granderson, Hiroki Kuroda, Boone Logan and Phil Hughes, are eligible for free agency and may end their Yankees careers in unusual fashion - playing in meaningless games.
ANGELS 3, ATHLETICS 1 Jered Weaver (11-8) pitched seven innings of five-hit ball, Josh Hamilton drove in two runs, and host Los Angeles did a bit more damage to the Athletics’ home-field playoff hopes with a victory over Oakland. Erick Aybar had three hits in the Angels’ final home game of their disappointing season. Los Angeles is unbeaten in its past 10 series while winning 23 of the past 32games, including 4 of 6 over the two-time AL West champion A’s in the past two weeks.
INDIANS 7, WHITE SOX 2 Rookie Danny Salazar gave host Cleveland a quality start and Nick Swisher hit a two-run home run as the Indians tightened their grip on one of the AL wild-card spots with their 14th consecutive victory over Chicago.
ORIOLES 9, BLUE JAYS 5 Ryan Flaherty hit a pair of two-run home runs, Jonathan Schoop had a home run in his big league debut and host Baltimore beat Toronto to snap a six-game skid and clinch their second consecutive winning season.
RANGERS 7, ASTROS 3 Leonys Martin hit a three-run double, Ian Kinsler homered and host Texas kept pace in the AL wild-card chase, beating Houston and handing the Astros their team-record 108th loss of the season. The Astros lost their 12th in a row.
TIGERS 1, TWINS 0 Max Scherzer earned his 21st win and visiting Detroit clinched its third consecutive AL Central title, beating Minnesota. Pine Bluff’s Torii Hunter’s single followed a lead off triple by Austin Jackson in the first inning, and that was all Scherzer (21-3) and the Tigers needed to start the party.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
BREWERS 4, BRAVES 0 Kyle Lohse pitched a two-hitter and visiting Milwaukee overcame Carlos Gomez’s ejection in the first inning to beat Atlanta. Lohse (11-10) struck outfive and threw just 22 of 89 pitches for balls.
CARDINALS 4, NATIONALS 1 Rookie Shelby Miller won his 15th game, and Yadier Molina had the go-ahead hit for host St. Louis, which wrapped up a three-game sweep of Washington and moved another step closer to the NL Central title. Jordan Zimmermann (19-9) allowed four runs in seven innings.
MARLINS 3, PHILLIES 2 Adeiny Hechavarria drove in three runs, including a go-ahead run in the eighth inning, to help host Miami to a victory over Philadelphia. Hechavarria hit a two run triple in the second before driving in the run that made it 3-2 on a fielder’s choice.
CUBS 4, PIRATES 2 Pittsburgh’s hopes of catching up in the NL Central took a big hit when Darnell McDonald launched a three-run home run, leading host Chicago to a victory.
METS 1, REDS 0 Daisuke Matsuzaka scattered four hits in 7 2/3 shutout innings to win his third consecutive start, out dueling Cincinnati’s Mat Latos in New York’s victory.
INTERLEAGUE
RED SOX 15, ROCKIES 5 Todd Helton hit a home run, doubled and drove in three runs in his final game at Coors Field, but visiting Boston used Will Middlebrooks’ two home runs and career-high seven RBI to beat Colorado. Helton also had a sacrifice fly in his Colorado farewell. Middlebrooks hit his third career grand slam and a three-run home run.
Wednesday’s games NATIONAL LEAGUE NY Mets 1, Cincinnati 0 St. Louis 4, Washington 1 Chicago Cubs 4, Pittsburgh 2 Milwaukee 4, Atlanta 0 Miami 3, Philadelphia 2 Arizona at San Diego, (n) LA Dodgers at San Francisco, (n) AMERICAN LEAGUE LA Angels 3, Oakland 1 Cleveland 7, Chicago White Sox 2 Tampa Bay 8, NY Yankees 3 Baltimore 9, Toronto 5 Texas 7, Houston 3 Detroit 1, Minnesota 0 Kansas City at Seattle, (n) INTERLEAGUE Boston 15, Colorado 5
Sports, Pages 17 on 09/26/2013